Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Senators, Stakeholders Discuss Meaningful Use, Interoperability Woes during Hearing

Healthcare Informatics: The U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health Education Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a hearing this week on the effectiveness of the meaningful use program, with many senators expressing concern over the lack of usable, interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems.

The Committee, chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), asked questions to four panelists who represented various facets of the industry. Julia Adler-Milstein, Ph.D. assistant professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health represented the research side; Robert L. Wergin, M.D. president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) represented the provider side; Peter DeVault, director of interoperability at Epic Systems Corporation represented vendors; and Angela Kennedy, Ed.D. head of the Department of Health Informatics and Information Management and College of Applied and Natural Sciences at Louisiana Tech University represented consumers and health IT professionals.

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